Syn in Wonderland
by S. Reid
Summary: She is the first daughter of the seventh generation of Alice Kingsley's line. On her shoulders rests the fate of those who will come after her. If she can beat the Red Queen's Maze then she will free her family from ever having to sacrifice their first daughters
Chapter Four

'Getting down to business' wasn't all bad. The luxurious bathing room was the best part of it all. The bath was sunken into the floor and the size of a small pool. I had a waterfall running from the ceiling and offered a sort of shower effect. The water was a beautiful clear blue and was naturally warm, the perfect temperature.

I loved it. I swam the length of it three times before the Bright Ladies made any move towards me.

"It's time to bathe, miss." Maggie told me. "Please swim over to the shallow area near the waterfall."

Shaking out my wet hair, I smiled up at them. Despite myself I was happy there in that lovely water. The thoughts of my imminent death were being held at bay for now and I wasn't going to let them spoil this time. So I swam to the waterfall area, saw the shallow area Maggie had mentioned. Diving beneath the surface of the water, I left the warm water behind and entered the little pool. The water was noticeable warmer here, even more warm than the rest of the bathing pool.

"Is there any particular scent you enjoy?" Leana asked me, her amber eyes dancing with happiness. "The Red Queen has stocked your soaps, lotions, and shampoos quite nicely."

I laughed derisively. "How nice of her to pamper me before sending me off to be murdered."

Emmy's brown eyes widened in shock. "Miss, you shouldn't speak of Her Majesty in such a way."

Maggie and Leana shared a look. At least they weren't blinded by the Red Queen's false generosity. Everything in me wanted to tell Emmy that Red Queen wasn't the benevolent person she was playing at being. No one in their right mind would believe that she was anything other than a raving lunatic who had tortured my family for seven generations and took heads the way kids took Halloween candy.

Despite my desire to set Emmy straight, I decide to let it go. Ranting and raving about how psychotic the Red Queen is wouldn't do my image any favors. If Emmy wanted to think that Red Queen was being nice to me for real then I wouldn't taint her pretty lie that she was telling herself.

"Lavender and honey soap," I said, ignoring what Emmy had said completely. "Lavender for my hair, please."

Maggie nodded, retrieving the scents I requested and handing the shampoo to Leana. "I'll let Leana wash your hair since she is so great at massages. She studied at the White Court's one and only pleasure house."

Leana blushed as she took the bottle. "I only studied the art of massage." She said this in a rush so it sounded like it was all one word.

I smiled my understanding. "And a noble art it is."

The blue-skinned woman grinned back at me. "I could give you a massage tonight if you have trouble sleeping."

"That would be great!" I enthused. "After tonight I can see myself needed your talents."

Maggie turned her attention to Emmy. "Please retrieve at towel, rag, and robe for our lady."

Emmy gave a little bow. "Yes, ma'am."

When Emmy was out of ear shot I looked to the magenta-skinned woman that the Red Queen had placed in charge of me. "Are there many people in the Red Court who think of Her Majestic Evilness in the same way as Emmy?"

Leana and Maggie shared a long look. "There are some who think that the Red Queen is justified in what she has done to your family these seven generations past." Maggie said with a sad look in her lavender eyes.

"There are also those of us who do not agree with what she has done." Leana told me with a hard look in her eyes. "Or with what she continues to do."

I was taken aback by the look that burned in Leana's amber eyes. She really was angry over what Red Queen was doing. If I failed would those who opposed what Red Queen was doing to my family actually do something to stop it from happening again? Would I be the catalyst that ignited their hatred of Her Majestic Evilness?

"When you enter the Maze, there will be people within it that will help you." Leana reassured me. "We can't allow them to kill you. Without you, Red Queen will win and we cannot let her win."

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean, 'Red Queen will win'? That's an odd way to phrase 'things will stay the way they have been'."

Leana took my head in her hands, her fingers deftly massaging my scalp. I couldn't look at her so I turned my gaze to Maggie. My eyebrows were raised in question but she remained silent. It was at this moment that Emmy decided to return with the items Maggie had sent her to retrieve.

"Found them!" Emmy announced cheerfully.

Maggie smiled slightly. "Thank you, Emmy."

Since neither of them was willing to explain what they'd started to say, I knew who would tell me. I turned my head until I could look at Emmy. Leana's skillful fingers followed my head's movement. She really was skilled in the area of scalp massages. If this was any indication of her learnings then I couldn't wait for dinner to be over so I could have an actual massage from the blue Bright Lady.

"Emmy?" I intentionally made it into a question to draw her into the conversation.

She raised her eyebrows, tilting her head to one side. "Yes, my lady?"

"If I die in the Maze what does Red Queen win?" I asked flatly.

This brought a radiant smile to her pretty face. "That's easy!"

I waited. Impatiently. Leana kept right on scrubbing my scalp. When the silence became too much to bear, I opened my mouth the snap at her.

"She gets the White Queen's throne." Emmy told me with so much happiness in my voice that I felt sick.

"The... White... Court?" I asked slowly.

Emmy nodded, her face alight with joy.

I looked to Maggie for confirmation. She, too, nodded. Behind me, Leana tensed and her fingers paused in their soothing motions. Even Leana was confirming what Emmy had just told me.

"Why?" I asked in a voice high with anxiety. "Why would White Queen give up her throne if I die in the Maze?"

Maggie sighed heavily. "Because she helped Alice escape that first Maze."

The world fell away at those words. Leana removed her hands from my hair and gave me a little nudge towards the pool. I didn't wait for any of them to tell me that it was time for me to rinse the suds from my auburn tresses. Without a single word to the trio of colorful ladies, I dove into the water.

I swam hard beneath the surface of my luxurious bathing pool. When I reached the bottom of the pool I sat there. My lungs were starting to burn but I couldn't bring myself to return to the surface. Not only did my survival free my family but it would also free White Queen from a bargain she'd made with Red Queen all those years ago.

White Queen helped Alice? White Queen had helped Alice escape the first Maze! The words kept playing over and over in my head.

My lungs couldn't take anymore. I had to return to the surface. Everything was going black around the edges. God damn it! I had to face my trio of Bright Ladies. There was no more putting it off. Staying below would mean I drowned then White Queen's Court would belong to Red Queen. There would be no fight to the death. There would only be death.

Pushing off the bottom of the pool with my powerful legs, I made my way back to reality.

I broke the smooth surface of the bathing pool. My short auburn hair clung to my scalp, free of suds. With sure strokes I close the distance between myself and the Bright Ladies.

Maggie offered me a rag and some soap.

"Tell me everything you know," I said as I took the items from her pink hands.

Leana took a seat on a nearby bench, Emmy taking the seat next to her.

"When the Red Queen plopped little Alice into the Maze, White Queen was livid. She managed to enlist the aide of a few Wonderlanders that Her Majestic Evilness placed in the Maze to add a little spice to the entertainment. They managed to help her figure out the Maze, earning Red Queen's wrath for the rest of their lives."

Maggie took up the tale. "Any Wonderlander who helped Alice has been forced to live inside the Maze. Some of them are hardly human anymore. If you thought that those characters in those works of literature you love so much, you have absolutely no idea what awaits you inside the Maze."

"Crazier crazies?" I ran the soapy rag all over my body, thinking deeply about what they'd just told me.

If those who helped Alice in that first Maze were crazier than they were before that fateful then I was so screwed!

Diving beneath the surface once more, I rinsed away the soap. I didn't linger like I had the first time I'd gone under. Once I was sud-free I abandoned the bathing pool.

Despite the fact that I was perfectly capable of drying my own hair, of picking out my own clothes, and of dressing myself I let them do all of those things for me. I was lost in my thoughts. Not only did the fate of my family hang in the balance but now I had to face the fact that all of Wonderland hung on my surviving the Maze.

Yeah, I was so totally screwed.


End file.
